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goliebs OP t1_j3xie4j wrote

I don't think there's any magic bullet but there are several small actions that you can take and if enough people do these things, the situation will improve:

  • Participate in "Residents Speak Out:" that's the portion near the beginning of each board meeting that residents can use to raise issues they are concerned about. They generally limit speaking time to three minutes. You have to sign up in advance which you can do here: [https://www.columbiaassociation.org/about-us/leadership/board-of-directors/resident-speakout/]
    If you do speak out, you might consider a couple things: Ask them to release "the plan" they referred to in their press release, Ask them to publicly commit to keeping Lakey employed for at least the remainder of her contract, and Ask that they adhere to the Audit Committee's recommendations and hire a mediator (rather than a lawyer) to help resolve their conflict with Lakey
  • Make sure your neighbors know about these issues and encourage them to participate in the elections. Seven of the CA Board positions (all except Town Center, Owen Brown, and Harper's Choice) will be on the ballot in April. Candidates will need to submit applications to those positions by mid March.
  • Since it seems like there is a Maryland law being violated here, you can also file a complaint with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. I used to think this was overkill but, since it seems like the most recent press release was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public (or at least omit critical information to our understanding), I think it may be warranted now. If you're interested, you can do that here:
    https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/CPD/Complaint.aspx

I also think its important to remember that the board are people (flawed like all of us are) who volunteer a lot of their time trying to serve the community. I think it's fair to criticize their performance as a board member but please don't forget they are our neighbors and should be treated neighborly.

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